Relevance of Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) Policy Enforcement for IndonesiaRobby Ardiansyah

Social relations as one of the mechanisms of inter-communal survival in every period of human life are never eaten away by time. As the situation and phases progress, the scope of human relations is increasingly expanding to relations between several countries, especially in carrying out economic activities for the welfare of their respective countries.
One of the phenomena of cooperation relations between countries that we can see is the existence of buying and selling or export-import activities that occur. However, this phenomenon is not stagnant in that activity alone, the activity is of course supervised and guided by the regulation of rules and laws that overshadow it.
One of them is the European Union which consists of dozens of developed countries that have new rules that regulate them in carrying out economic activities, especially import activities, in order to maintain and prevent some unwanted things in their running.
Such as the destruction of nature, the increase in greenhouse gases or the erosion of many forests which are the result of economic cooperation being carried out. In addition to meeting the needs of countries, the European Union also wants to minimize more severe damage to the earth and protect nature and its contents as part of environmental ethics to prevent disasters in the long term and implement the Renewable Energy Directive II policy. .
Since 2010 alone greenhouse gas emissions have increased by almost tens of percent from several centuries ago. This bad thing triggered the European Union to issue a policy, namely the Renewable Energy Directive II, in their activities as a prevention of damage to the earth.
One of them is to reduce the use of fossil fuels by using renewable energy sources such as using biofuels and stipulating that CP0 is an unsustainable energy source. This is in consequence of the cessation of CP0 importers in the European Union. This is what makes this rule have a big impact on countries that have international cooperation, including Indonesia.
The European Union has trade relations with Indonesia, one of which is in the crude palm oil (CP0) trade activities, this is important for the European Union to meet the needs of renewable energy sources of at least 20%.
Indonesia is the largest EXPORTER of CP0 for the European Union in meeting its renewable energy sources. Of course, this is beneficial for both countries. The European Union can achieve their desired targets to comply with the rules of the Renewable Energy Directive. As well as Indonesia obtained a considerable foreign exchange surplus in the activities of CP0 exporters to the European Union.
The European Union is the largest share of CP0 export markets for Indonesia, therefore cooperation and mechanisms and settlements in cooperation between the two sides are very vital. However, after the Renewable Energy Directive II policy was activated, several problems began to arise, especially Indonesia, which was affected by the regulation.
After its implementation, the European Union rejects CP0 exports from Indonesia on the pretext that CP0 production in Indonesia is contrary to the Renewable Energy Directive regulation as an optimization of the earth's environmental sustainability.
The European Union argues that Indonesia's CP0 does not meet the standardization of domestic commodities there, because Indonesia's CP0 production is very unfriendly to the environment, such as forest burning, peatland use, tropical forest conversion which has a significant impact on increasing greenhouse gas emissions.
The biggest market loss in CP0 sales certainly also has a big impact on Indonesia. We must be able to choose and sort out in addressing this issue, whether we should follow the Renewable Energy Directive II mechanism as a step to follow the green politics in Europe in restoring the largest CPO sales market for Indonesia, or perhaps choose another step as a new way of increasing the country's foreign exchange income.
As the party who agrees and agrees to the regulation, of course I suggest that Indonesia continue to maintain and improve the European market share as the largest importing country by following the policies they set, because this will also have a direct good impact on Indonesia itself.
We need to remember that losing the CPO market in Europe will have huge adverse economic consequences for our foreign trade, especially the agricultural sector. Then the second Renewable Energy Directive II is a step to optimize environmental protection, which of course is related to the rule of law in Indonesia such as Law 32 of 2009.
By following the Renewable Energy Directive policy we will while maintaining the country's large source of income and participate in the prevention of environmental damage. In addition, if we insist on not participating in adhering to green policy policies in the European Union, it is tantamount to worsening Indonesia's image in front of the world and environmentalist organizations that may participate in blockading CPO trade from Indonesia.
In addition, by following these policies, it also makes the rule of environmental law in Indonesia more critical in preventing damage to nature. We know that the European Union needs vegetable oils, one of which is as a renewable energy source.
But CP0 has been stipulated in the Renewable Energy Directive II that CP0 is an unsustainable source of renewable energy due to its environmentally unfriendly production process. This is not the end for Indonesia's market share in the European Union. We still have many other options that contain vegetable oils but are environmentally friendly and relevant to the Renewable Energy Directive II. Such as the rubber and pecan seed industry which has a large quantity in the country and is environmentally friendly in the production process
Then what about palm oil production that cannot be sold in the European Union? We can still sell CP0 to other countries that still think that CP0 is a sustainable renewable energy source like China. In fact, China is a big importer of Indonesia's CP0, we can earn revenue of USD27.1 billion in 2017, even this has exceeded sales revenue in the European Union.
Of course, with this we will not lose the vegetable oil market in the European Union and on the other hand, the rotation of CPO international trade in Indonesia can be maintained so that unemployment can be prevented and increase the types of Indonesian international sales commodities.
But on the other hand, the claim from the European Union that says that palm oil or CP0 is a high-risk and unsustainable renewable energy source with its production process that damages the environment is certainly a discriminatory policy and harms the Indonesian nation.
With the huge production of CPO in several countries, especially Indonesia as the largest exporting country, it will experience an oversupply of palm oil of at least 4.55 million tons. This will greatly harm the Indonesian nation with a reduction in existing foreign exchange income.
Moreover, the balance of the non-oil and gas trade sector in Indonesia is supported by palm oil trade or CP0. Indonesia is expected to lose foreign exchange income of 218 billion per year. This, of course, will make the Indonesian economy increasingly sluggish with the pressure of gross income in Indonesia.
In addition, it will also put great pressure on the labor sector which will later give rise to and add new unemployment figures in Indonesia, approximately of course 20 million palm oil farmers will lose their jobs because CPO no longer has a market share in the international world.
The CP0 discrimination claimed by the European Union is not in line with environmental ethics such as forest burning, tropical deforestation is no longer relevant, because the Indonesian government especially has strict mechanisms and regulations in regulating CPO production and oil palm plantations in Indonesia.
The rule of environmental law in Indonesia is becoming increasingly critical in preventing natural damage, such as the issuance of the minister of agriculture regulation No. 19 of 2011 concerning guidelines for sustainable Indonesian oil palm plantations to monitor the occurrence of arbitrary activities against the environment.
In addition, oil palm plantations that meet the criteria will be given an Indonesian Sustainable Pal Oil certificate with the parameters of the minister of agriculture regulation No. 7 of 2009. This of course has a major impact on the image of Indonesian plantations in the eyes of the world, while also reopening the CP0 market opportunity in the European Union. Of course, this will have a good impact on both countries with these rules.
Therefore, the discrimination of CP0 exporters who are biased in ethics and environmental safeguards claimed by the European Union is irrelevant.

Reference
http://psdr.lipi.go.id/news-and-events/opinions/potensi-dampak-penerapan-red-ii-terhadap-perekenomian-indonesia.html